The Moon
Even the smallest telescope will reveal breathtaking close-ups of the Moon’s rugged, battered surface. New features are highlighted every night along the terminator, where the light and dark portions of the lunar disk meet. Craters, smooth lava plains, and jagged mountains abound, providing endless fascination.

Planets
Venus, Mars, Saturn, and Jupiter make great subjects for study with a telescope. They’re very small, even at high magnification, but are bright enough to see even from light-drenched city skies. Any size telescope can show Mars’ pale red disk (and often a polar ice cap), Saturn’s pale yellow orb and picturesque rings, and Jupiter and its bright moons. In good seeing conditions you’ll see Jupiter’s colorful cloud bands and its Great Red Spot.

Star Clusters
No telescope shows stars as more than tiny but colorful pinpoints. Double stars, like the famous blue-gold pair Albireo, are a popular target. There are also numerous star clusters of different sizes and brightness ... the jewels of the sky. It’s fun to hunt them down using a star map and see how many stars you can resolve.

Nebulas
Like snowflakes, no two of these ghostly clouds of gas and dust look alike. All are faint and in a telescope will appear mostly gray or greenish in color. But their shapes and structure are revealed with patient observing. Dark-sky observing sites will let you see much more.

Galaxies
Incredibly distant and challenging faint subjects, dozens of galaxies are visible in backyard telescopes of modest size, hundreds or thousands in bigger models. In dark skies with a 6" scope, you can discern hints of structure in the brightest galaxies. The more time you spend observing them, the better trained your eye will become at seeing faint details.

Pictures vs. Viewing
Human eyes are not sensitive enough to detect colors in faint light. Long-exposure photos of nebulas and galaxies show their true colors. It’s impossible for a photo to depict the real-time, low-light image you will see. Fortunately, the eye is often better at revealing glimpses of detail on the planets than the typical photo can catch.

Astro-images taken through a telescope on a tracking mount provide breathtaking color and detail that you just can't see with your eyes alone. The astro-images on our web site demonstrate the imaging capabilities of the products used and are not intended to represent what you will see when you look through a telescope.
Learn More

Use your telescope and the Orion Telescope Observer's Guide to explore over 60 interesting celestial objects! Written by Richard J. Bartlett, this must-have introduction to exploring the sky with a telescope is packed with helpful tips and info.

If you only get one book to go along with your new telescope, make sure it's Turn Left at Orion! The perfect companion guide, it includes maps to nearly 100 of the best objects, and drawings depicting what they will look like through your telescope.

The Orion AstroView 120ST Equatorial Refractor Telescope provides great wide-field high contrast images for the intermediate observer or astrophotographer. It is perfect for viewing or photographing the moon, planets and even deep-sky objects.

The SpaceProbe 130EQ is an affordable beginner telescope. The classic long-tube Newtonian design allows for all around great performance. The EQ-2 mount is very sturdy and you can add the optional electronic drive for automatic tracking.

At Orion, we are committed to sharing our knowledge and passion for astronomy and astrophotography with the amateur astronomy community. Visit the Orion Community Center for in-depth information on telescopes, binoculars, and astrophotography. You can find astrophotography "how to" tips and share your best astronomy pictures here. Submit astronomy articles, events, & reviews, and even become a featured Orion customer!